The Globetrotters beat their arch rivals, the Washington Generals 92-88 in front of a wild crowd of specially invited grammar and middle school aged children. Ironically, this is only the fourth game they have played in Harlem.
For four years, the Globetrotters have brought their C.H.E.E.R. program to schools nationwide. The program promotes the importance of “Cooperation, Healthy mind and body, Effort, Enthusiasm, and Responsibility.” The players encourage students to use these traits in daily encounters that might occur with friends, teachers, and family.
This year the Globetrotters signed the first ever Puerto Rican player. They will play exhibition games in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing the total number of countries they have played in to 120.
Although the Globetrotters claim their hometown to be Harlem, they were actually conceived in Chicago. The Savoy, a Chicago bar named and modeled after the renowned club of the same name in New York, had fallen on hard times. The idea to start a basketball team and host games, in order to tempt people to come out and dance after the games, came about. Business wasn’t much improved by the “Savoy Big Five” as the team was originally called, and team was split up.
The coach of the “Savoy Big Five” proposed a team that would tour the country and some of the players agreed to join. Their first game was on January 7, 1927 in Hinckley Illinois to a crowd of 300. They received $75 for the performance and wore jerseys with New York on them. Saperstein later changed them to say “Saperstein’s New York Globetrotters”, according to the Globetrotter’s website.
In 1930, they changed their name again to the “Harlem New York Globetrotters. In 1939, after gaining a 112-5 lead over a local opponent, they clowned around on the court for the first time and the crowd loved it. Saperstein said it was okay if they clowned around in the future but only after they had gained a substantial lead. One year later in 1940, they won their first ever World Basketball Championship and finished the season with a record of 159 wins to eight losses.
In 1956 the Globetrotters had four teams on tour and played more games than the NBA; which had eight teams, each playing a 72 game schedule. In 1958, the Globetrotters signed Wilt Chamberlain who played for one year before joining the NBA. The Globetrotters played their first game in Harlem in 1968.
In 1993, the team was bought by Mannie Jackson who was the first African American and former player to own a sports/entertainment organization. The Globetrotters and their 80 plus year history were basically saved by this purchase, as they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
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